Political signs rise and fall every election season, but this year they seem to be falling more frequently.

Precinct 6 has seen the most disappearing signs, with the incumbent councilor reporting some 30 missing and the challenger closer to 60 in a two-day period this week. But other candidates are reporting the same. At the Patriot’s debate Oct. 14, other candidates for council reported losing a good number of signs as well.

Such thefts are considered larceny of property, although in some jurisdictions, broader First Amendment Free Speech issues, but that’s a tough legal hill to climb.

Sign stealing, or at least removal, is, sadly, a relatively common occurrence in elections, and a Google search shows it to be on the rise throughout the state and country. In Barnstable’s local elections, the recent history on signs shows a more dedicated approach, both in frequency and number. In the recall election of 2008, the incumbent’s signs were not only stolen, they were cut up and used as backer boards for the opposition. That’s theft and vandalism.

Signs do cost money, and it does take time for those running campaigns to search and replace those that go missing. They’re also more durable, so those tossed by the roadside become more permanent litter. There are discarded signs from past elections (there’s still a perfectly usable Teague for Senate sign in the West Barnstable woods, and he ran in 2000) in different pockets around town.

For the sake of fair politics, we hope that vanishing signs are the work of area youth looking for easy marks, not political statements. Unfortunately, that’s unlikely.

DS II

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